Eyes of the Kitsune
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: The Uchiha are a cursed clan, doomed to kill their friends and siblings for power. Can a certain blond and the most powerful Uchiha ever known break this vicious cyle? Another of my Fem!Akatsuki contest winners, next up is Pain! NarutoxFemItachi! Fluff.


_**/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /Eye of the Kitsune\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \**_

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Dull and lifeless eyelids flickered as he struggled to keep his focus on the man in front of him. The rest of time had slowed down once more, his approaching form frozen off in the distance. The Uchiha did not leave a last curse or a snarl, they only gritted their teeth as they looked up at the wavering form of their enemy, and sank to the floor, but not before they touched two fingers to his forehead. A small step to the right, and a broken smile, and it was done.

The youth stared down at him with an uncomprehending gaze.

Itachi's head fell back down to the concrete, his face scratching upon the rough cement in the epitome of defeat.

"Sorry Sasuke...there won't be a next time."

He did not fight the blackness as the air swirled around him.

* * *

_(Afterlife...?)_

The Uchiha clan descended from the elder of the two sons of the Sage of the Six Paths. The elder brother was born with the Sage's eyes and was gifted with powerful chakra and spiritual abilities. When it came time for the Sage to choose a successor, he questioned the two on what course of action they would follow to bring order to the world. The elder believed that _might_ was the way to bring peace, while the younger believed _love_was the way. The Sage favored the ideal of the younger brother, and therefore designated the younger as his successor, causing the elder to be filled with jealousy and hatefulness. From the younger son descended the Senju clan who would be the eternal rivals of the Uchiha.

Before the founding of the ninja villages, the Uchiha were one of the many mercenary clans for hire. Because of their Sharingan, the Uchiha clan came to be known as one of the two strongest clans, the second being the Senju clan. Madara Uchiha was particularly powerful, and, upon attaining the Mangekyō Sharingan, he took control of the clan. Under his leadership the Uchiha grew stronger, conquering whatever clans they came upon, such that, whenever the Uchiha clan was hired for a job, the opposing side would hire the Senju.

"There can never be peace so long as the Uchiha exist."

It was an endless cycle of pain, just as Nagato-clever bastard still thought Itachi was actually unaware of his true identity- had said.

Hashirama Senju, the leader of the Senju clan, had grown tired of the endless fighting, and approached the Uchiha with a peace treaty. Madara feared that an alliance would lead the Uchiha to ruin, but his clan disagreed, and he was forced to accept. The two clans came together to form Konoha, with Hashirama being selected as Hokage. Madara believed that this was proof that the Uchiha would be made subservient to the Senju, but his clan saw this only as his attempt to rekindle the flames of war. They turned their backs on him, and he defected. Following Madara's betrayal, the Second Hokage gave the Uchiha control of the Konoha Military Police Force as a sign of trust. According to Madara, this was really just a way of keeping the Uchiha in check and out of Konoha's governing affairs. Over the years, some Uchiha, such as Setsuna, have figured out this motive's true meaning, and tried to rebel, but they found that it was too late to make a difference, as the Senju had already completely suppressed the Uchiha.

Itachi had wiped out that decadent clan, and would be hated by his brother. He would exchange love for hatred, and would leave the future of the clan to his little brother. He would be cursed and he would be loathed amongst all of Konoha. He would be remembered as the man who decimated the Uchiha clan and nearly brought the shinobi world to the brink of extinction. A fitting end, that no one would know of his deeds and that all would be right again.

Then why did he suddenly have that sick sensation of dread?

Why, as he hung in the blackness without a word, did he suddenly fear that he had _not _ended Madara?

Itachi felt his chakra trickle out in response.

_'I have...failed.'_

_"_To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation, is it not?"

**!**

Itachi felt a cold hand seize upon his soul and drag him upward, out of the black pit that all shinobi know as the final death. Instead of joining them in hell as he deserved, Itachi felt himself violently dragged out of that flaming pit. He had but an instant to comprehend this, before the shadoes held him fast, and would allow him to ascend no further. Only then did Itachi open an eye, and find an unbelievable pair of **Rinnegan **eyes staring down at him.

But this was not Nagato.

Held within a face as old as time itself, their owner was garbed in a cloak of many colors, and yet none of them were known to the human eye. He wore a beaded necklace, and his body seemed to be a constant change between the ethereal and the physical. He carried a long and intricate wooden staff, and at his hip, a series of keys, six in number, jangled softly. He stared down at Itachi, as if he were awaiting an answer to the riddle.

Itachi offered only a sigh.

"Are you another of my inner demons, come to torment me?"

"You're purpose is not yet finished, youngling." It, for this godlike entity was surely male, frowned. "There is still much work for you to do." Itachi flinched as the being rapped him across the head with its staff, and simultaneously removed a key from its belt. Itachi had the sudden urge to draw away from this man, but his body would not respond to his commands. But the strange fellow only twirled the key ring about his pinky finger.

"Your thoughts betray you, son."

His eyes widened marginally.

"You're a myth." Itachi cursed himself for lack of words and fumbled for the right ones. "But it would seem that our myths and fables are becoming the stuff of legends." At the response, the strange eyes of the sage crinkled in amusement as he ran a hand through his silver beard. "Very well then. Assuming this is not a by-product of my sub concsious, what do you want of me?" Dream or not, he was eager to get to the heart of this matter.

"What say you then, descendant of mine?" He inquired softly. "I've the means to give you a body, but it will come at a bit of a..._cost." _Itachi opened the other eye and reluctantly forced himself to stand up and give the strange man his full intention. Oddly enough, his feet found traction upon the invisible floor, and he was able to find his footing in the nothingess. The man to whom Itachi already had a fair notion as to whom this might be, chuckled.

"Accepting so soon?"

Itachi frowned, but did not refuse outright.

"Speak." He managed at last. "I'll hear what you have to say."

"I will give you three tasks." The Six Path Sage instructed, tapping his staff against the empty void between them and outlining the first objective. "First and foremost, I will task you with the revival of your clan." Here his eyes did narrow and Itachi actually winced as he was rapped across the head. "The _proper _revival, my boy. To that effect, the first human of the opposite sex which you so happen to lay eyes upon, will become your mate."

"That hardly sounds-

_WHAM_!

"Second!"

This time, Itachi had the presence of mind to remain silent.

"Second, you shall be responsible for the safety of your mate, as you are your own." The Sage tittered to himself softly. "You won't fall head over heels for them right away, nor they you, but that's the fun in it, would you not agree?" When Itachi maintained his nonplussed silence, he continued. "Oh don't make that face. You'll still maintain your sense of self, and I'll even give you full reign over your Mangekyo Sharingan again,, but you might find your old personality supplanted by the new one as a result of overuse...

"And the third?"

"You're actually considering this? "The Sage seemed a bit taken aback by this nonchalance, but only for a moment."AHem...very well then."

"I'm listening."

"The third and final requirement of our contract, is closure." He held up the key, its pewter and silver casing now pulsating with a deep and dull crimson. "Nothing in this world is infinite, and neither is the life I am about to give you, Itachi. Uchiha Once you have produced a suitable heir...you must kill your brother, AND that loathsome wretch known as Uchiha Madara. Alone or assited, it does not matter to me long as you have a hand in their ultimate demise and my bloodline is secure once again."

"If I should fail?"

Violently, his hand shot forward and rammed the key into Itachi's chest.

"If you do not succeed, then you will perish within the span of two years. Should you succeed however, you'll be given the life you've deserved."Itachi glanced down at the key, now turning inside his chest and spilling golden light across the blackness as his body broke down into countless shards of light and luminescence. He had only a moment to hold his breathe, then he was pulled out of the spirit realm and back to the physical plane.

The Six Path Sage watched from the gates of Heaven as his charge returned to earth.

_"Fare thee well, my child."_

* * *

_(Undisclosed Area)_

_'Liviing...is painful.'_

Such were the thoughts of Uchiha Itachi as he opened his eyes. He awoke with the kind of start that immediately made your pulse quicken and chest tighten in a dull pain, just like what one would feel when first going into battle. The sound that jolted him from his dreamless slumber was the soft clicking of a door handle being twisted against the jamb and opened by a series of locks and seals that were now slowly unbound.

A small burst of fire was enough to persuade them otherwise.

They gave a small sound of surprise, and the faint footsteps outside turned into a startled squeak.

"The prsioner is awake!" A young, feminine voice yelped on the other end of the door. "Itachi-san is-

_Alive._

The word struck him as odd, and then alarming.

_'So that was not a dream after all.'_

In an instant, staggering amounts of sensory information flooded Itachi's five senses – the very first of which, was that he could _see_. Itachi blinked, and blinked again; already tasting the old residuals of blood and battle in his mouth; and still he was able to see everything in clear clarity. No longer was there that thick layer of haze pressing in at the corners of his vision, though he knew these eyes to still be his own, and not those of his brother.

_I can see. _

He brought those eyes to bear upon the door as it was hurriedly locked and sealed again from the outside. Itachi measured the silence betwen each binding and the length of time that it took to seal each of them recording the fumbling heartbeat behind the doors thick frame. He knew not the voice, and while this irked him somewhat, knowing the pattern in which his room had to be bound, would make for a relatively easy escape from this place, should he so desire it.

The harsh chatter of armed guards below the window did not sound so promising, and instead, he swiftly surveyed his surroundings.

The only usable weapon within his reach was a small and finely crafted vase, the likes of which contained a bouqet of fresh flowers. Itachi blinked at them, and inhaled their fragrance with a small sigh. To a trained master of the Sharingan such as he, these flowers painted a rich and vibrant portion of the one who had placed them. She, for only a woman could have plucked them at this time of year, had delivered these flowers relatively recently.

_Yesterday. _

He concluded this, as he noted the briefest glimmer of snow through the window pane. Returning his gaze to the flowers, Itachi was genuinely surprised to find that they were of such inumerable and rare variety that he had trouble deciphering their meaning. He spied a red and white rose within the bouqet, which symbolized unity, but contained within the facets of the flowers was a daffodil, and the dahlia, an aloe, and even a lotus could be found amongst them.

Whomever had placed them here, they had a great knowledge of flowers and what each symbolized.

Pulling a Marigold and an Elgantine Rose from the bouqet, Itachi finally tore his gaze away from the flowers. Regretfully, he placed them within the boquet and set their vase upon the bedside table once more. He did not have the time to focus on a trivial matter such as this. Shaking his head, he gently placed them upon the window and took in another heavy breath of air as he kept his head down and shame visible.

_'Regardless, I do not deserve such gifts.'_

He felt the soft sheets beneath his body and savored the warmth they brought. He was amazed to find that not only was his vision crystal clear, but that he knew this room. Having been admitted to this place too many times to count during his illustrious shinobi career, Itachi Uchiha knew, and at once recognized this room. With its white sheets and soft blankets and sweet smells, all of which brought back faint memories filled with nostalgia.

_He was alive._

His upper torso was bare and wrapped in bandages and his shoulders felt overly strained. As he had suspected, his captors had treated his wounds. Reaching for the garments that slid though the thin grate, Itachi slowly donned a black pair of black drawstring and a a white baggy hospital gownthat wasn't quite snug, but neither was it loose. As he slid his arms through the sleeves and kicked off the sheets however, a sharp and jagged pain lanced through the space between his shoulders.

_'Nrrgh_!'

Gagging, one hand flew to his mouth, restraining the cough that he expected to come.

When no such thing happened, Itachi began to feel the faintest vestige of hope worming its way through the impregnable barrier he had erected around his heart. He shivered, for his bare feet were numb on the icy tiled floor below, and it was only with great difficulty that he forced his legs to swing over the bed rail and his senses to work their way upwards to better asses the situation. His body was surprisingly nimble, and Itachi soon found himself standing as-

A sudden weight dragged him onto his face.

Dismayed that he had been so easily tripped, the Uchiha nimbly flipped himself upright, and was again, surprised by the lack of response from his once agile body. Rising to his feet, his balance again proved itself to horribly skewed, and in a momentary lapse of judgement, Itachi swore aloud as he pinwheeled his arms against the sudden weight in his chest. It must be the bandages, he saw how tightly they were wrapped under the large protusions that must have been heavy bruising from his battle.

Determined to find out just what was wrong with his face however, he turned and both saw _and _reached for the mirror upon the nightstand. Gripping its handle, he paused, dreading what he might find there and what could have been done to explain his survival. Steeling himself for the worst, Itachi cleared his mind and heart and forced himself to look into its reflective surface. At once, he let out a small hiss and felt the glass slipping through his fingers as the reflection mimed his expression in utter silence.

_Snick!_

He threw up the sheets as the glass sprayed up at him, jagged shars of reflective metal and plastic stabbing into the impromptu shield and clattering to the floor. Stunned, Itachi allowed the bloody cloth to fall from his fingers, for his gaze was deadlocked upon the shattered faces staring up at him from the floor beneath.

"Madness." He murmurred, and frowned as another's voice spoke for him. "This is...madness."

Awed, he touched a hand to his cheek, and the reflections each mirrored the movement as he reached down to hoist up his too large hospital gown and slacks. He was even forced to yank the elastic drawstring tight just to keep them up, much to his ire. But not once did his wide and disbelieving eyes leave the shards of glass at his feet.

His Mangekyo Sharingan blazed furiously, and Itachi Uchiha stared back at Itachi Uchiha..._of a different sort._

Dark gray eyes regarded the reflection with utter confusion and irritation as they blinked rapidly. Black hair that was no longer filthy, hung near slender cheeks to frame a face strangely absent of those tear troughs beneath the eyes. Indeed, once filthy and unkempt hair hung down his back, clean and silken as though it had just been washed. This was the kind of hair that women only dreamed of, and men never bothered to maintain once they obtained it.

Thin lips pursed in displeasure.

_"I..._

Dark and loose, the long tresses fell around his eyes in a black curtain from his down-turned face and shoulders, shading his onyx black eyes from the harsh light. They could not however, hope to shade those eyes from sliding downard to his chest. With a swift and violent movement, he jerked aside the wrappings and realized the reason for his lack of balance, as he spied the twin globes attached to his chest and his now slimmer shoulders and diaphragm.

_'I cannot possibly have-_

"What devilry and jutsu is this?" He muttered, slowly drawing out the strange and lovely voice that had replaced the deep and low timbre masculine tone. Thankfully, his thoughts were his own, but they they were also a tad difficult to restrain, something he found bothersome. Reaching up to his hair, he tugged the drawstring out of his gown, and used it to tie his hair back into a loose ponytail. He had but to glance down at his once flat and toned stomach, now soft and lacking muscle of any sort, to know what had been done to him and what he would not find there.

_'Blast. This might become...difficult.'_

The Six Path Sage had a twisted sense of humor.

His...erm, _her _ears twitched as the door began to unlock itself for the second time on this chilly winter morn. It was not violently thrust open as he had expected it to be, nor was it thrown off its hinges as he had feared it might be. Instead, as he prepared to jerk his gaze away from the figure about to enter, it creaked open. Reluctantly as though the one behind it were forcing themselves to move, as much as they were forcing the door to open.

_He was a woman._

Itachi listened intently to the sounds of the measured but purposeful footsteps as they drew nearer and nearer to the door. He made no move to rise as it burst open, simply because she saw no point in further resistance. If he was to meet whomever was on the side of the door, then he would meet his end with dignity, and burn in hell for his crimes and his failure to save Sasuke from the dark path he had now trodden. He knew not who or what awaited him on the other side of that door.

It did not matter.

_BAM!_

A firm, experienced hit was administered to her cheek, making her head violently turn to the side. She could already feel another split in her bottom lip start to bleed. Still grappling with the concept of referring to himself/herself as male or female, Itachi did not dare to open his/her eyes, whilst eventually deciding to be referred to as the latter...for now.

She heard the door slam shut behind them, and lock itself.

Their breathing was haggard whomever they might be, so Itachi remained quiet, just waiting for the next blow to come so that it could be properly evaded.

_WHAM!_

Another hit, this time to the other side of her face, quickly followed by a kunai being driven deep into her left thigh. At this, Itachi hissed and grimaced; her hands curling into on still her attacker did not speak, refusing to let themself be identified as male or female, which only furthered the Uchiha's frustration as she detected the sound of muscles clenching for another strike.

"Why…why did you…"they growled out at her; red-hot malice present in their strained voice; prompting Itachi to turn her head back in his direction and slowly open her eyes without remembering or at all considering the consequences. In that instant, two furious Sharingan eyes snapped open and bored into two furious sapphire blue orbs. Those very same eyes grew large and wide as they beheld the eerie and unmistakeable pattern of the Uchiah's Kekkai Genkai.

_'Oh, dear.'_

Itachi frowned and the tomoe faded from her eyes as she straigthened up to her full height.

"Who...in the hell're you?" The blond squinted at her, and the expression was oddly fox-like. "H-Hold on a sec, you're an...

Too late, she spied that tawny mane of blond hair, and those whisker marks that tripled either of his cheeks. Too late, she saw him take a small step back and become wary and uncertain. It was much, much too late to be helped, and Itachi silently cursed the Six Path Sage for such a cruel twist of fate. As promised, the now feminized Uchiha felt no attraction whatsoever, but a cold pang of dread was there to clamp down upon her chest.

It suddenly became clear why the boy's voice had been unsteady a second ago – he had been crying while she had been thinking.

"Y-You're-

She knew in an instant what the boy was trying to ask; his own anger strangling his words; but she only moved her tongue around inside her mouth to try and bring some moisture to that parched cavern. Truthfully, she was trying to work out what to say to the boy who apparently, was trying to wrap his mind around the concept that a half naked girl was standing right in front of him, wearing clothes that were several sizes too large for her, and her bosom concealed only by incredibly tight bandages.

It irked her.

"Fool."A tick mark appeared on Itachi's forehead and the Mangekyo Sharingan flared violently to life once again as it spun rapidly. "It would seen that you're as imbecillic as ever, Uzumaki Naruto." She paid no heed to the two dozen or so Anbu just around the corner. "Furthermore, I'm rather offended by that gaping jaw of yours, so I think it is time for _you_, to take a nap." A slight and imperceptible smile tugged at her features and Itachi allowed it.

"After all, I have no intention of explaining myself to you after all the trouble you've caused."

"Uh?"

Maybe finally seeing him respond snapped Itachi out of his limitless fury, for he then stated more calmly, "It is as I said. You've failed to steer Sasuke back on the proper path. So for now, enjoy your day off and perhaps I'll speak with you again once you've learned what it will take to bring Sasuke back." As the first stun rod slammed into her back, Itachi allowed what would likely be the first true smile of this strange two years of her life to flourish.

**"Tsukiyomi."**

Naruto yelped and tumbled onto his back, startled by the three second torturous world without ramen.

"Seize them!"

Itachi smiled even as her victim tumbled back into unconciousness from the shock of experiencing the harmless genjutsu. She joined him soon thereafter, another of the many powerful jolts arcing up her spine and coursing through her nervous system as she was forcibly restrained and dragged to her feet. Out of the corners of her eye, Itachi spied none other than Konoha's Hokage and ill named legendary sucker, just before the hood was yanked over her head and she was left blind.

…she had never felt so defeated and tired in her life.

"Itachi Uchiha." She grimaced behind the burlap sack as a hand forced her head upward. "What the devil did you do to yourself?" Itachi's only answer was a slight inclination of the head, otherwise no visible response could be discerned. Silencing having never sat well with the Godaime Hokage, Itachi wasn't at all surprised when the hood was loosened and abruptly ripped away from her visage as swiftly as it had been donned only moments ago.

"Kami!" Even Tsunade was startled by the intensity of the beauty that had been hidden beneath the sack.A drop of blood from my lip made a soft 'plap' sound as it hit the hard floor before she drop of \blood hit the floor as she paused; her fatigue increasing exponentially from finally telling someone.

Despite that, despite the silence, I continued

"You're going to tell them. _Everything_." Itachi snapped her head down in a brief pang of regret as she was hauled to her feet. "All of Konoha is about to learn the truth, the real truth, behind your so called 'masacre', as it should be." If Tsunade had expected a response from the Uchiha, she was going to be dissapointed by the sudden lack of sound. She detected a small intake of breath as the documents, the personal notes of Sarutobi Hiruzen, were held before those burning charcoal eyes.

"Do you understand?" Her voice was just a tad softer all of a sudden. "You're about to be pardoned for all your crimes."

"Understood."

Itachi nearly gave in to the terrible crushing depression for a moment.

"Godaime-sama."

**What can I say, this evens the playing field for Konoha? FUCK YES IT DOES! I hope ya'll like this, as I'm off to have brain surgery tomorrow morn and I htought Id leave you all this this! Go to this site: h t t p : / / g a n g s t - a h - p i m p . d e v i a n t a r t . c o m / a r t / I t a c h i - h a s - n o - l i n e s -9 3 7 3 2 7 8 9 to see a picture of Female Itachi's face.**


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